Way back in 1966, Paul Revere and the Raiders put out a song by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart called "(I'm Not) Your Stepping Stone." The track exploded to fame when manufactured pop band the Monkees recorded it, and later achieved cult status thanks to treatments by the Sex Pistols and DC hardcore punks Minor Threat.
Fast forward to Monday night, when The Real Tracy Fields had Bebob Grabowski in the studio for her Evenin' Jazz show on WLRN and they ran a cut by Negroni's Trio called "Sabado En La Noche," the last song off the threesome's new album Just Three.
The song takes a few simple chords into a huge crashing whirl of piano, bass, and cymbals and rocks the fuck out. We asked drummer Nomar Negroni about it. Here's the song and what he had to say.
Crossfade: Ey dude, we heard that shit ["Sabado En La Noche"] on the radio yesterday, vibin' the fuck out to it. And then when they came on the air and said it was a Miami band ... That shit was awesome. Damn, that track rides like a motherfucker.
Nomar: Hahaha. Thanks, man.
Wassup with the band?
We're from Puerto Rico. My dad is the piano player. We moved here in '95, I think. I went to high school here and then I went to Berklee College of Music. I came back to Miami and we formed the trio around like 2003. So it's been, like, eight years.
You have recordings?
With the trio, we have five albums. The second one was nominated for a Grammy in 2005 in the Latin Jazz category.
Where has the band played?
We were just in Italy on the island of Sardinia. We've done jazz festivals in Spain, Indonesia, Puerto Rico. We've played the Blue Note in New York, Blues Alley in D.C., Andy's Jazz Club in Chicago. We just had a great show Monday night at the Van Dyke. It was packed. The whole Beach was there.
What else are you working on?
A new band called the World Music 5. It's Negroni's Trio, plus Federico Britos, plus Dr. Ed Calle. We're gonna be playing new arrangements of standards from all over the world.
Like?
We have a new arrangement of the song "Granada" from Spain, for instance.
Ey dude, you have a crazy drum solo in that "Sabado En La Noche." You do a lot of those?
My dad writes all the songs. But he gives me and the bass player liberty to compose over anything he wrote. To add whatever we feel is good for the song.
Check out Negroni's Trio at negronistrio.com, facebook.com/NegronisTrio, @negronistrio, and YouTube.
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